sem and retention: a perfect pair · university of mary washington tara sprehe, dean, academic...

SEM and Retention: A Perfect PairPresenters:

Alicia Moore, Dean of Student and Enrollment Services Central Oregon Community College

Jody Gordon, AACRAO Senior Consultant

Kimberley B. Williams, VP for Enrollment Management, University of Mary Washington

Tara Sprehe, Dean, Academic Foundations and Connections, Clackamas Community College

SEM and Retention: A Perfect Pair, Session 1554, #SEM2018 #SEM18

Overview of the Session1. Introductions

2. Discourse – Shift to “Student Success” from Retention

3. Barriers to Student Success

4. SEM and the Student Success Connection

5. Student Success Strategies (interactive):

– Strategies connected to Access

– Strategies connected to Progression

– Strategies connected to Completion

6. Discussion and Closing


About the Presenters – Alicia Moore

• Dean of Student and Enrollment Services, Central Oregon Community College. Past roles include Director of Admissions/Registrar, recruiter, orientation coordinator, and yes…”dorm mom”!

• Senior Consultant with AACRAO Consulting, with primary emphasis on SEM planning, community college recruitment and marketing, and admissions/registrar office process review. Written multiple articles on SEM, recruitment in community colleges, and marketing.

• Bachelor’s degree from Willamette University (go Bearcats!), master’s from Colorado State (go Rams!) and doctorate from Oregon State University (so glad to be done!).

• Was born and raised in Alaska, is a foodie, and loves chocolate, skiing, biking, camping, my dog, and making fun of Tara!


About the Presenters – Jody Gordon• Worked in post-secondary since 1992, first at Simon Fraser University

before joining Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 1998 and the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in 2012 - 2018. Worked in Student Services, Student Affairs and Office of the Registrar. Former Vice President, Students and Enrolment Management at UFV.

• In addition to my administrator roles, I have taught first-year university criminology students and I am currently a Senior Consultant for AACRAO Consulting.

• I completed a First Class Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992 and a Master of Arts degree in 1996 from Simon Fraser University. I have published on the topics of student affairs, mobile students, strategic enrolment management and SEM leadership.

• Love all sports but especially hockey and MMA. I do boot camp because it is fun (really it is) and well to get through boot camp.


About the Presenters – Kimberley B. Williams• I currently serve as the Assistant Director of AACRAO’s Strategic

Enrollment Management Endorsement Program (SEM-EP).

• I have more than two decades of experience in higher education, including senior administrative assignments at Northern Illinois University and the University of Michigan—Flint.

• I’ve earned three degrees from Old Dominion University; an Ed.S. degree in Higher Education Administration, a master’s degree in Education Administration, and a bachelor’s degree in English. In addition, I have a post master’s certificate in leadership from the University of Michigan’s Center for the Education of Women (Go Blue!!).

• For fun, I run and enjoy Mix-Fit classes.


About the Presenters – Tara Sprehe

• Dean, Academic Foundations and Connections (what IS that?) at Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon

• After 10 years at four-year public universities, moved to the challenging and rewarding environment of community colleges. 17 years at Clackamas in a variety of roles: faculty, registrar, dean.

• Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) and Master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Miami University (Ohio).

• Loves sports, paddle boarding, traveling, reading, and making fun of Alicia


And now a word about spelling…

While the presenters represent two different nations (Canada and the United States) due to this presentation being delivered in the US we have defaulted to American spellings as opposed to Canadian spellings. So expect to see ENROLLMENT, and not ENROLMENT, for example.


Who’s in the Room?

1. Introduce yourselves

2. Show of hands:

– Four-year private

– Four-year public

– Two-year private

– Two-year public

– Canadian (for Jody!)

– For Profit

– Other


Student Success, Not Retention, Why?

1. Retention is clinical rather than aspirational

2. Retention is merely a measurement, a benchmark of educational attainment

3. And often, as John Gardner would argue, a minimum one at that: Retention is a C- and a pulse

4. Retention restrains us, limits our vision and our capacity for creativity and excellence


Student Success Defined

"[E]mpower students to succeed through educationally purposeful activities, initiatives, and accountability measures that will ensure that students are retained and graduated at higher than predicated rates, with higher degrees of satisfaction and minimal financial indebtedness, and are employed or enter graduate, professional, post-secondary programs at higher rates, having acquired the skills, knowledge and dispositions to succeed in any of those endeavors they pursue.”

Strategic Enrollment Management: Transforming Higher Education (2012), p. 58


Barriers to Student Success

1. Students who are first generation, academically under-prepared and work while attending university/college are less likely to persist (Piecing

together the student success puzzle: Research, propositions, and recommendations, Kuh, et al., 2007)

2. Students who don't actively seek out educational advising support are less likely to persist (Pascarella and Terenzini)

3. Students who lack a sense of belonging or a sense of hope are less likely to persist (Hope as a Predictor of Success, Day et. al.)

4. Students who lack a sense of direction with their program selection are less likely to persist (Tinto)

5. Students who are not involved in co-curricular activities of any kind are less likely to persist (Tinto)


Barriers to Student Success Con’t.

6. Lack of social and academic integration (Bean and Eaton)

7. Students who face challenges at key transition points - First year Transition, Transfer Year Transition and Gateways to Core Course Completion (Gardner Institute)

Discussion: Think about your own college/university. Do these barriers exist at your institution? Why or why not? What other barriers exist? Discuss with the person next to you.


Our Everyday Reality in Student Success• There is abundant evidence that students are not as

engaged as we would like.

• There is also evidence that students are not as engaged during the first year of college as they thought they would be.

• Levels of performance in high DFWI courses should be a cause for action but is often not acted upon.

• There is still too much unacceptable attrition especially after first year anywhere between 10% to 40% depending on the institution.


Our Everyday Reality in Student Success Con’t.• There is much instability in the viability and leadership of

retention of Student Success “programs.”

• The response of the academy to the challenges of Student Success has been primarily to design “programs” rather than a more comprehensive institutional response.

• We are competing for ever scarcer resources, both students and funding.

• And we are competing for students’ most precious of resources: their time, energies, attention, priorities, discretionary monies—Success in college versus their jobs, families, pursuits of pleasures, busy demanding lives.


SEM Defined as Student Success

Strategic Enrollment Management is a concept and process that enables the fulfillment of institutional mission and students’ educational goals. ~ Bob Bontrager

Strategic Enrollment Management is a comprehensive process designed to help an institution achieve and maintain the optimum recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students, where “optimum” is defined within the academic context of the institution. As such, SEM is an institution-wide process that embraces virtually every aspect of an institution’s function and culture. ~ Michael Dolence


Why Talk about SEM with Student Success?

Well SEM is…

1. Strategic and intentional

2. Practical, tangible planning process

3. Data- and goal-driven

4. Action-oriented

5. Cross-campus participation

6. Rallying point for the campus

…which results in success for students during the entire

lifecyle!


SEM Perspective of Student Success

Recruitment /

Marketing

Admission

Orientation

Co-curricular

support

Degree/goal

attainment

Academic

supportRetention

Financial

support

Student’s Experiences

Classroom

experience

Alumni

Bontrager


Pillars of SEM – Student Success Strategies

1.Access

2.Progression

3.Completion


Building from the Introduction…

Success of our students is critical:

• For their future (and ours)

• Declining enrollment

• Competitive landscape

• Reduced funding


Access Strategies

What does access mean to you? What does it mean at your institution?

• Think

• Pair

• Share


Effective Access Strategies

• Structured enrollment processes and policy enforcement

• Bridge programs and mindsets

• Comprehensive student success plans

• Developmental education redesign


What Students Experience


What We Want Them to Experience


Structured Enrollment Processes and Policy Enforcement

• Ensure all enrollment related activities are completed prior to beginning of term/semester.

• Ensure steps of enrollment are streamlined and clear

• Stop “late” registration

• Enforce prerequisites

Best Practice Example – Arizona State University: https://admission.asu.edu/freshman/apply

https://admission.asu.edu/freshman/apply


Bridge Programs and Mindsets

• Academic and resource support prior to term (increasingly year-round)

• Growth mindset

• Belonging mindset

Best Practice Example Headstart Program at Laurier University -https://students.wlu.ca/academics/support-and-advising/incoming-student-support/headstart.html

https://students.wlu.ca/academics/support-and-advising/incoming-student-support/headstart.html


Focus!


Comprehensive Student Success Plans• Informed program choice with job data

• Connect students with right resources through goal development

• Provide meaningful interactions (staff/student and student/student)

• Guide intentional academic decisions

• Financial plan, career plan, academic plan

Best Practice Example: Queensborough Community College- http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/academies/business-academy.html

http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/academies/business-academy.html


Developmental Education Redesign

• Improve placement of students into appropriate courses

• Align outcomes

• Integrate reading and writing

• Align math curriculum

• Create new pathways by career outcomes

Helpful scholarly article (with practical applications): https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/resources/case-studies-dev-ed.pdf

https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/resources/case-studies-dev-ed.pdf


Pillars of SEM – Student Success Strategies

1.Access

2.Progression

3.Completion


The KIND Approach

The AND philosophy


The KIND Approach

• When Daniel Lubetzky started KIND Healthy Snacks in 2004, he aimed to defy the conventional wisdom that snack bars could never be tasty and healthy, convenient and wholesome.

• While other companies let circumstances force them into choosing between two seemingly incompatible options, people at KIND say “AND.”

• A decade later, the transformative power of the company’s “AND” philosophy has resulted in an astonishing record of achievement.


The KIND Approach

• At its core, the “AND” approach it’s about challenging assumptions and false compromises. It is about not settling for less and being willing to take greater risks, often financial.

• It is about learning to think boundlessly and critically, and choosing what at first may be the tougher path for later, greater rewards.


Think of Kuh’s High Impact Practices…

• George Kuh’s research into retention led him to conclude that there were a number of High Impact Practices or HIPs that an institution can focus on to improve student success.

• When asked what one thing can an institution do to enhance student engagement and increase student success, he responded by saying make it possible for every student to participate in at least two high impact activities during their undergraduate program, one in their first year AND one in the capstone year.


Between the first year AND the capstone year


High Impact Practices (HIPs)…

• First-year Seminars and Experiences

• Common Intellectual Experiences and Learning Communities

• Writing-Intensive Courses

• Collaborative Assignments and Projects

• Undergraduate Research

• Diversity/Global Learning

• ePortfolios

• Service Learning, Community-Based Learning, Interships

• Capstone Courses and Projects


Here are 5 places where students and campuses falter later in the student lifecycle

1. Double majors, multiple major changes, and satisfactory academic progress.

– studies of student success suggest that multiple major changes

can slow down or derail a student’s progress toward graduation

2. Undecided and off-track students

– Staying undecided for too long or falling behind on major course requirements are two strong signals that a student is at risk for attrition

Best Practice: Florida State's Center for Exploratory Studies

places trained advisers in academic departments and in

specialized advising centers in high-traffic locations around

campus.



3. Advising and cross-registration policies

– Proactively structuring advising to address common pitfalls and making cross-registration policies more flexible--especially in cases where significant numbers of students are encountering advising and scheduling impediments that are throwing them off course to graduate--can invigorate your undergraduate program and make a positive difference for students.

Best Practice: At the State University of New York (SUNY), a recently streamlined system-wide cross-registration agreement makes it possible for a student at SUNY-Fredonia, for example, who needs a course that is not available on her campus that semester, to take that course for no extra charge at another campus, such as the University at Buffalo



4. Lack of clear academic pathways

– Studies show that when students do not have a clear sense of where they are heading academically, they are less likely to persist through to graduation. Creating pathways that are appealing, easy to understand, and simple to navigate can keep students engaged in the work of mapping out a plan from freshman year to graduation.

Best Practice: Connecticut College's new approach to organizing its curriculum provides students integrative academic pathways designed to foster higher levels of engagement. Importantly, Connecticut College has implemented a team advising structure to support these integrative pathways



5. Financial obstacles and personally challenging circumstances

– Studies show that even high achieving students are more likely to drop out if they lose eligibility for financial aid or experience an aid gap of $1,500 or more

Best Practice: Example from the audience?


Case Study – The KIND Approach at UMW

• At UMW, we’ve looked at progression strategies based on four specific target groups; Transfer, Underrepresented, First-Gen, and Off campus.

• We have a Strategic Enrollment Plan with a Student Success Council and Recruitment Council.

• We think AND not OR. See two examples below:

– EAB Guide and Peer mentoring

– Honor Council Honor’s Violation Policy and Disbursement Policy

Discussion: Think about your own college/university. Do you have an AND philosophy regarding persistence? Why or why not? Discuss with the person next to you examples of multi-dimensional/ AND approaches you’re using as it relates to persistence.


The KIND Approach

• At KIND, AND is not just a top-level strategy. It’s a guiding principle for every team member to use every day:

– What assumptions can I challenge?

– Which seemingly mutually exclusive options may actually be mutually achievable?

– Why can’t we try to meet more than one goal with the same product or strategy?

– Are our assumptions and ways of doing things still valid?

– Do the supposed constraints still exist?


The KIND Approach• As SEM practitioners, we must continuously think critically about our

enrollment strategies; where will our next competitive threat originate? How can we develop and/or enhance services to protect our retention and graduation goals?

• Once you have identified the conflicting objectives that you’re trying to achieve and how they interact, you can start thinking about whether there are creative ways to accomplish both objectives at once.


The KIND Approach

• At KIND--- they Dream!!

– Dreaming can help you visualize and forge a path to success, and that imagination has the power to set you apart from your competition, as long as you act on it.

Discussion: Please share with your neighbor your progression “dream” for your institution.


Pillars of Student Success Strategies

1.Access

2.Progression

3.Completion


Completion Strategies

Reverse Transfer• Intentional• Partnerships• Education Commission of the States Report• National Student Clearinghouse Report• AACC 21st Century Center Resources• University of Texas – El Paso and El Paso Community

College• . . . And Hawaii, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and lots of

others

https://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/01/18/77/11877.pdf

https://clearinghouseacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/Reverse-Transfer_A-National-Solution.pdf

http://www.aacc21stcenturycenter.org/resources/resources_reversetransferagreements/



Career Pathways/Stacked Credentials• Career-Pathways.org, Georgetown University Report• Minnesota State, Iowa DOE• Central Oregon Community College, Portland

Community College

http://www.career-pathways.org/about-career-pathways/

https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/careerpathways/

https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/careers/pathways.html

https://educateiowa.gov/adult-career-and-community-college/community-colleges/pathways-academic-career-and-employment-pace

https://www.cocc.edu/programs/special-curriculum/career-pathways/default.aspx

https://www.pcc.edu/career-pathways/



Basic Bridge Programs Unskilled Jobs

Sectoral Bridge Programs Semi-Skilled Jobs

Short-Term Certificates Entry-Level Skills Jobs

1-2 Year Certificates, AAS Mid-Level Skilled Jobs

BA/BS+ Upper-Level Skilled Jobs

Occupational, Academic and Life Skills

Pro

sp

ec

ts f

or

Hig

he

r-W

ag

e, S

tab

le E

mp

loym

en

t

Source: Careerpathways.org



Career Pathways/Stacked Credentials• Career-Pathways.org, Georgetown University Report• Minnesota State, Iowa DOE• Central Oregon Community College, Portland

Community College

http://www.career-pathways.org/about-career-pathways/

https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/careerpathways/

https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/careers/pathways.html

https://educateiowa.gov/adult-career-and-community-college/community-colleges/pathways-academic-career-and-employment-pace

https://www.cocc.edu/programs/special-curriculum/career-pathways/default.aspx

https://www.pcc.edu/career-pathways/



Auto-Award Certificates and Degrees• Relies on degree audit system• Students need not apply!• Awarded at all stages/career pathways• Opt out?


To Conclude…Guiding Principles for Building Student Success

1. Identify and build comprehensive profiles of students at risk

• assessment and monitoring systems based on Assessment scores, course placement tests, first semester college GPA, SAT/ACT scores, socioeconomic information, attendance records, and non-academic information derived from formal college surveys and college student inventories

2. Determine the economic impact of Student Success programs

• student time to degree completion rates through a cost-benefit analysis of student dropout, persistence, assessment procedures, and intervention strategies to enable informed decision-making with respect to types of interventions required—academic and non-academic including remediation and financial support


To Conclude…Guiding Principles for Building Student Success

3. Determine student characteristics and needs

• set priorities among these areas of need, identify available resources, evaluate a variety of successful programs, and implement a formal comprehensive student success program that best meets institutional needs

4. Take an integrated approach in student success efforts

• incorporate both academic and nonacademic factors into the design and development of programs to create a socially inclusive and supportive academic environment that addresses the social, emotional, and academic needs of students


Time for reflection…

1. A-Ha moments for you?

2. Questions?

3. Comments disguised as questions?

4. Plans for the tonight?


References

1. Day et. al. “Hope uniquely predicts objective academic achievement above intelligence, personality, and previous academic achievement,” Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 44, Issue 4.

2. Kuh, et al. (2007), Piecing together the student success puzzle: Research, propositions, and recommendations, U.S. Whiley.

3. Lubetzky, D. (2015). Do the KIND Thing- Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately. New York, NY. Penguin Random House.

4. Marthers, P. (2017). It’s Not Just About the First and Second Year of College. Retrieved from: https://www.academicimpressions.com/its-not-just-about-the-first-and-second-year-of-college/

https://www.academicimpressions.com/its-not-just-about-the-first-and-second-year-of-college/


Thank you for listening and for participating

Contact information:

Alicia Moore [email protected]

Jody Gordon [email protected] and Twitter @jodyloveshockey

Kimberley B. Williams [email protected]

Tara Sprehe [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




sem and retention: a perfect pair · university of mary washington tara sprehe, dean, academic...

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